Oklahoma’s Richard Glossip freed on bond after 30 years on death row

An Oklahoma judge on Thursday allowed Richard Glossip, a former death row prisoner, to be released on bond after almost 30 years behind bars, as he now awaits a retrial over a 1997 killing that put him on the brink of execution three separate times. The decision clears the way for Glossip, 63, to leave prison for the first time since his arrest nearly three decades ago. Last year, the US supreme court threw out his conviction. His longstanding claims of innocence have drawn support from Kim Kardashian and other prominent figures. Natalie Mai, the judge, issued an order setting bond at $500,000. Glossip must wear an electronic monitoring device and will not be allowed to travel outside of Oklahoma . He also must not contact any witnesses in the case or consume any drugs or alcohol. Glossip had been sentenced to death over the 1997 killing in Oklahoma City of his former boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese, in what prosecutors have alleged was a murder-for-hire scheme. The supreme court ruled last year that prosecutors’ decision to allow a key witness to give testimony they knew to be false violated Glossip’s constitutional right to a fair trial. Glossip has remained behind bars after the Oklahoma attorney general, Gentner Drummond, announced the state would seek to retry him on a murder charge but not pursue the death penalty again. …